Localis at the 2010 Party Conferences
Author: Localis |
Liberal Democrat Conference Events
The Localis programme of fringe events at the 2010 Party Conferences began in front of a large audience in Liverpool, with local government figures Paul Raynes, Richard Kemp and Gerald Vernon-Jackson joining Alex Thomson to discuss ‘Can Councils Live Without the Formula Grant?’ This event links into a major new research project Localis is undertaking in collaboration with Ernst & Young on opportunities to devolve financial powers to local authorities.
This was followed a few days later by an equally well-attended discussion entitled ‘Is Localism Dead or Alive: What future for a radical shift of power under the coalition government’, featuring a panel including DCLG Select Committee member Stephen Gilbert.
Labour Conference Event
A week later and Localis was in Manchester for the Labour Party Conference where our event, ‘To Cut or Not To Cut: Can we really create better services at lower cost’, generated spirited debate from a panel including the new Shadow DCLG Secretary, Caroline Flint.
Conservative Conference Events
In Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference, Localis held a further three fringe events. The first dealt with the pressing issue of the future of Total Place and featured Minister for Local Government Bob Neill.
Following an panel discussion in conjunction with the Smith Institute on whether Social Housing should continue to be provided, the evening event saw the launch of our new report, ‘Total Neighbourhood’, along with speeches from Greg Clark MP and others.
The success of the events across all conferences showed how vital the localist priorities that Localis promotes are at this time, and the high quality speakers and capacity audiences made for exciting and cutting-edge discussions.